Presidential Campaign

Presidential Campaign

To understand American presidential elections and predict their outcome, forget the polls and the pundits. Forget the media coverage based on the horserace model in which candidates surge ahead or fall behind according to campaign events.

Political speech is often characterized by occasional "slips of the tongue." These come in two kinds — as gaffes or Freudian slips. The former represent a blunder, or simply an accidental mistake. The latter are mistakes that may reflect wider and deeper underlying beliefs.

Florida State University is located in the capital city of the nation’s most sought after swing state. The most important issue on this campus: whether the football team’s soft schedule will keep them out the national championship game.

The students, faculty, and staff are aware there is a presidential election approaching; the ads are inescapable. And there are signs that some care deeply about the outcome of this election. When the first lady made a campaign appearance, the long line for a ticket formed early in the morning and went into the afternoon. There are Obama-Biden bumper stickers on many cars. There are Romney-Ryan placards on many front lawns. Though, I’m not sure exactly what these two sides represent. Apparently, we can either move “forward” or we can “believe in America.” We cannot do both. The nation must choose.